SCB Steelers Quick Hitters for September 8th, 2014

The Steelers are tied for the division lead with Cincinnati at 1-0 while fellow division foes Baltimore and Cleveland are 0-1.

-Injuries from yesterday’s game include safety Shamarko Thomas who has an Achilles issue. Dri Archer has a left knee/ankle issue but the severity isn’t known at this time.

-The fake punt run by the Steelers yesterday was actually their second one in their last three games. Remember they did it at Green Bay last season too.

-Speaking of the fake punt, Charlie Batch said on the postgame show that the players audibled to it when they saw Antwon Blake uncovered. That wasn’t correct because Mike Tomlin said quite definitively that he made the call prior to the punt team lining up. My guess is that Tomlin is right. I can’t see Rob Golden doing that on his own with the ball at his own 20.

-Ben Roethlisberger moves to 10-0 all-time against Cleveland at Heinz Field and 18-1 all-time against them overall.

-Jarvis Jones, Cam Heyward and Jason Worilds each recorded a sack yesterday.

-Markus Wheaton did a lot to prove to me that he can be an effective number two receiver catching six balls for 97 yards. If he can do that on a consistent basis, then that makes Antonio Brown better and opens things for Lance Moore when he returns as well.

-I thought Roethlisberger did a great job trusting Justin Brown. The young receiver dropped a very catchable ball in the fourth quarter forcing a punt, but Big Ben went back to him and his confidence was rewarded.

-The Steelers lead all AFC teams with opening day wins with 41.

-Tomlin moved to 54-9 when his Steelers have the lead at halftime.

-Big Ben’s game-winning drive was the 34th of his career.

-Antonio Brown is now eighth on the Steelers’ all-time receptions list with 266 as he passed Plaxico Burress. Next up is Franco Harris at 306.

-With his first catch, Heath Miller extended his ‘games with a catch’ streak to 89 straight.

-The Steelers now travel to Baltimore for the Thursday night game against the Ravens.

Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on Trib-Live Radio

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Marc Uhlmann is a Co-Owner of and Writer for steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and follow the site @SCBlitz. He is the host of the Steel City Blitz Podcast and has been known to offend fans with opinions they fear are true.